‘Obsession’ Box Office Surge Tops Most Wide Releases

Obsession 39% – “Obsession” followed a $17.1 million first weekend with a $23.9 million second weekend, a 39% jump that producer Jason Blum called the “ONLY” wide-release horror-movie increase on record. The swing is matched only in recent memory by “Sound of Freedom,” which

For a second weekend, “Obsession” didn’t just hold steady—it climbed.

After a first weekend that totaled $17.1 million, the Blumhouse horror film added $23.9 million in its second weekend. That’s a 39 percent increase week-over-week, an outcome that Jason Blum described as virtually unheard of in horror.

Writing on Twitter, Blum said it’s the “ONLY” wide-release horror movie on record to go up by such a margin. “This doesn’t happen in horror,” he added, referencing the kind of small-budget horror surprises his company is known for—especially those without stars.

The numbers get sharper when you look beyond the weekend totals. The film also brought in added money on Monday over Memorial Day. To date, “Obsession” has made $68.3 million worldwide.

Comscore’s figures were used to test how rare the feat really is. For movies opening above 2. 500 screens and increasing between 35 and 40 percent in their second weekend domestically. there weren’t many clean matches. “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” in 2017 rose 38 percent and made $50 million in its second weekend. driven by the fact that Weekend 2 included Christmas. Two other animated Christmas releases—“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and “Migration”—also climbed by 35 and 36 percent, respectively. Even Pixar’s “Monster’s Inc.” re-release in December 2012 rose by roughly 35 percent in its second weekend.

But “Obsession’s” case is treated as “largely unprecedented” for another reason: the only recent box office unicorn that comes close in this time frame is “Sound of Freedom.”

They’re not the same kind of movie, and the details matter. “Sound of Freedom” became a political lightning rod, sparking fire fueled by conservative conspiracy theories it was associated with. Its controversial “Pay It Forward” distribution method also led to legitimate questions about how those box office numbers were reported and how many people actually attended.

Still, the end result turned into a headline run of its own. “Sound of Freedom” made $250 million worldwide, even as many in Hollywood had not heard of distributor Angel Studios before it emerged.

In that comparison, the second-weekend growth looks especially similar. “Sound of Freedom” opened the week of July 4, 2023, with $19.6 million. By weekend two, it earned another $27.2 million—about a 39 percent increase, according to Comscore.

There are key differences in the mechanics of the releases. “Sound of Freedom” added 413 screens for its second weekend, while “Obsession” added only 40. And while “Obsession” arguably benefited from the Memorial Day weekend bump. “Sound of Freedom” also had the advantage of benefiting in its first weekend from Fourth of July.

Other films have risen in weekend two as well. “Sinners,” for example, opened to $48 million last year and then dropped less than 5 percent in its second weekend. “Project Hail Mary” this year also saw international growth in some markets in its second weekend as word of mouth grew. But those titles started from much higher opening levels than “Obsession. ” which changes the math—and the odds—of pulling off a comparable percentage jump.

From here, “Obsession” now carries new momentum—and new expectations. The film has already reached a 3.5 times domestic multiple from where it started. If it followed the “Sound of Freedom” pattern, the comparison movie ended up 9.3 times above its opening. Keeping that same structure, “Obsession” would land in the range of $160 million domestic. It’s described as a stretch. but it would still put the film on pace to be among the highest-grossing Blumhouse movies ever.

There’s also a specific benchmark being watched: if “Obsession” crosses $107 million. it will surpass the original “Paranormal Activity” and land Top 5 behind only “Glass. ” “Split. ” the “Halloween” reboot. and “Get Out.” All of those are sequels or titles from established filmmakers with much higher budgets.

For now, the hype is tempered. Curry Barker may not be the next Jordan Peele, but the second-weekend jump has already separated “Obsession” from the usual horror script. Even Peele’s movie dropped 15 percent in its second weekend.

And with “Obsession” still accelerating, the question shifts from whether horror can grow after opening—it’s whether it can keep doing it, long enough to redefine what people expect from a wide release.

Obsession box office Jason Blum Blumhouse horror Sound of Freedom box office Memorial Day Fourth of July Comscore Curry Barker weekend two increase Paranormal Activity